Glendale Community College moves forward with search for next superintendent

The nationwide search for the next superintendent of Glendale Community College is in full swing as officials look to make the hire by May 1.

The college agreed to spend $25,000 for Community College Search Services — the same group that facilitated the mid-1980s search that lead to hiring insider and longtime Glendale College Supt. John Davitt, who retired in 2006 — to compile a list of candidates.

Community College Search Services’ Eva Conrad — a longtime academic herself — told the college’s board of trustees this week that she’s accessed a database of 400 people who may be interested in the job.

“I already started going through that and made several phone calls today,” Conrad said Monday.

While there is a push to send letters and make phone calls to qualified candidates across the country and the state, Board of Trustees President Armine Hacopian said she also wanted to be sure to attract inside candidates.

“I know several who would like to apply internally and I want to be very fair with them as well,” Hacopian said.

In January, the search committee will develop a protocol for interviews. In March, officials will review the applications and invite “semi-finalists” to the college for an interview, Conrad said.

The finalists will then participate in open forums on campus and in April, the board of trustees will conduct interviews with them.

Interim/Supt. Jim Riggs offered his perspective this week on the kind of leader the college needs — the candidate will need to have extensive leadership experience, maintain a high profile in Glendale and stick to priorities in the face of financial pressures.

“I believe it needs to have a long term president,” Riggs said of the college.

The first attribute of an aspiring candidate should be an understanding of the teaching and learning process — “the business of the college,” Riggs said.

The candidate will also need to grasp student, staff and faculty needs, according to Riggs, and be an apt listener in considering the college’s culture.

“It’s an institution where there’s a lot of shared governance and processes where people are very much vested in having a voice,” Riggs said. “The superintendent is going to come in and listen well, without judgment, and figure out where to take the institution."